SETO
by DarkChocolatCocoa
Summary: Domino has two leading gangs: the Duelists and the Ghouls. Follow Seto Kaiba, the Ghoul's top 'fixer', as he deals with the gangs, some old rivals resurfacing, and his life with the Ishtars. Watch out- he's armed. Yugioh AU
1. Chapter 1

**Title: SETO (subject to change)**

**Rating: T (language, some violence, kissing, alcohol)**

**Fandom: Yugioh AU**

**Main Character: Seto Kaiba (will try to incorporate all manga/anime characters as majors and minors)**

**Genre: Mixed**

**Word Count for Chapter #1: 6,927**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or the character. As much as I would like to. I also cannot claim ownership of the song 'Sober' by Pink, which is used in this chapter. Saying I own anything but the words/plot itself is like saying that I own a national park. It would be great to, but just not going to happen.**

Hey, my first story on ffnet, in the genre of Yugioh. I am not ashamed to admit that I was once a fanatic, but I've mellowed out over time. I think.

Anyway, this came to in me in a daydream over the summer and the idea has refused to let up unless I write it. This is about two gangs in Domino City and certain characters within the two groups running into each other again. Seto Kaiba is the main character, and though he may seem a little OOC (believe me, the first thing he does here is totally not like him), this is planned and will be explained later. I am proud of this, it feels like it will go somewhere by the time I'm done. I type it all up as I go, but the plots and basic story points stay in my head before that point, so updatnig really comes down to whether or not I have time.

Please review. Creative critiquing would make me so happy, because it tells me what to work on and how I can improve my work. So please critique, but no flaming. No likey, no read.

Alright, enough ranting, read and enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter #1- Ghoul's Turf**

'I don't wanna be the one who laughs the loudest

Or the one who never wants to be alone

I don't wanna be that call at four o'clock in the morning

'Cause I'm the only one you know in the world that won't be home.'

The singer's voice stopped all conversation in the room to a sharp halt. The song was at an almost heart-wrenching acoustic level with only his guitar to serve as music. His beautiful voice had taken on a emotional, softly creepy quality that earned a few shivers. Some people swayed where they stood, a few rocking their hips, in time to the song.

'Ah, sun is blinding

I stayed up again

Oh, I am finding

That's not the way I want my story to end.'

He was on a small, impromptu corner stage. Hunched over his guitar and balancing on a borrowed bar stool, he didn't need a mike to make his voice fill the room. Brown hair with random strands of green from a past dye job hung over his closed eyes. His black vinyl jacket was slipping off of his shoulder and revealing pale skin around the top of his white longsleeve shirt. There was a tattoo visible there- the Japanese kanji for 'Ghoul'. There were other hidden tattoos too. A fierce dragon flew across his shoulder blades, a stylized cross decorated his lower left abdomen, and a pair of snakes wound around his right hip.

'I'm safe up high, nothing can touch me

But why do I feel this party's over?

No pain inside, you're my protection

But how do I feel this good sober?'

A pair of gleaming brown eyes across the bar took him in with mild amusement. 'He's in Whisper-mode tonight,' Bakura thought dryly. He absently fingered one of the wicked knives in his pocket.

'I don't wanna be the one that has to fill the silence

The quiet scares me 'cause it screams the truth

Please don't tell me that we had that conversation

'Cause I won't remember, save your breath

'Cause what's the use?

"Oooh~ He's cute," gushed a girl nearby, "Don't you guys think so?"

Bakura glanced sidelong at the too-thin brunette with too-innocent eyes that he vaguely remembered coming in earlier. His initial assumption of ditzy was proven. 'Cute isn't the word for him.'

'Ah, the night is calling

And it whispers to me softly, 'Come and play"

But I, I am falling

And if I let myself go I'm the only one to blame.'

"Yeah, sure," muttered the blonde behind her. He rolled his eyes over her head at another brunette with a ridiculous spike in his hair. Neither seemed to care, but even Bakura could admit that the singer was drop dead gorgeous. It was a natural gift he seemed to possess.

"Actually, Anzu is right. He's got a nice body." Bakura nearly choked on his drink at that one. Not at the comment, no, but at the young man stretching like a cat beside her, his hair a spiky crown of red, black, and gold. His purple-red eyes took the singer in far too hungrily. Beside him, a sweeter and smaller twin image giggled. Bakura took an instant dislike to them.

"Don't start stalking him," warned the blonde lazily.

"I don't stalk, Jonouchi," the taller one chuckled.

'I'm safe up high, nothing can touch me

But why do I feel this party's over?

No pain inside, you're like perfection

But how do I feel this good sober?'

"Excuse me, bartender? A beer here."

"Juice for me," piped up mini-me. He plunked himself down onto a stool and smiled shyly across at Bakura when he realized that he was watching them. Bakura snorted and looked away.

Marik, in all of his insane glory as bartender and Bakura's friend/partner in crime, smirked at the kid. "Spiked? I won't charge it."

"No thanks," replied the kid with a blush that made his twin glare at Marik, "Anyone else want something? Atem said he'd buy when we left."

'Comin' down, comin' down, comin' down

Spinnin' round, spinnin' round, spinnin' round

I'm looking for myself, sober

'Comin' down, comin' down, comin' down

Spinnin' round, spinnin' round, spinnin' round

Looking for myself, sober'

"Beer," chorused the guys. The girl, Anzu, didn't respond, too busy watching the singer and swaying in time to the music.

"I said that?" Atem glanced sidelong at his little twin. "You're exceptional at putting words into my mouth, Yugi. But I can never get mad at you for some reason."

"Natural charm I guess."

'When it's good, then it's good, it's so good 'til it goes bad.

'Til you try to find the you that you once had

I have heard myself cry 'never again'

Broken down in agony just tryin' to find a friend, oh, oh.'

Marik plonked four drinks in front of them and plastered his trademark grin onto his face. "A buck for the juice, two for each beer. Pay up now if you're not planning on seconds."

"Service with a smile," joked Jonouchi. He took a swig from his mug as Atem tossed the money onto the countertop. "Ah, that's good stuff."

"I'll have another too Marik," said Bakura absently, "Strong stuff this time."

'I'm safe up high, nothing can touch me

But why do I feel this party's over?

No pain inside, you're like perfection

But how do I feel this good sober?

I'm safe up high, nothing can touch me

But why do I feel this party's over?

No pain inside, you're like perfection

But how do I feel this good sober?'

The final note made the song seem eerily unfinished, but the singer slid away from the stage with liquid grace and ignored the broken applause. He vanished through a door that Bakura knew led to the upper floor of the bar. He'd leave his guitar upstairs and come down to get a drink or two. Marik would give him a freebie- he always did that for his two 'favourite customers'. Bakura was lucky to be the other.

"You're quiet tonight," commented Marik as he took a minute to chat, "From past experience, that's never a good thing." He smirked. "What are you plotting, and can I get in on the action?"

"You never change." Bakura ignored the kid that hastily looked away from him.

"Well, if you're not planning on anything..." Marik leaned forward and whispered, "Want to wreak havoc close to home? I promise I'll take any blame if we're caught."

"Doing what?"

"Not sure yet. Haven't gotten Rishid in a while, and Ra knows my sister needs a laugh," said Marik brightly, "That or we steal something. Something good. Or maybe a fight-"

"Not interested," waved off Bakura before Marik's enthusiasm infected him, "Last time your crazy sister wouldn't let me inside for a week."

"That was because you trashed the bar."

"Aw, if it isn't everyone's favourite performer. You were awfully melancholy tonight 'Whisper'," said Bakura with a smirk.

'Whisper' blinked at him languidly from seat beside Bakura that he had taken soundlessly. Marik was already passing him a glass of amber liquid and received a nod of thanks. His blue eyes were devoid of expression as he took a sip.

"Whisper?That's a nice stage name..." Anzu smiled at him with lowered lashes- trying to seem seductive and failing for the most part- and sauntered up. "That was a beautiful song. Your voice is amazing. My name is Anzu," she added quickly. He looked back at her unblinkingly as she continued. "I guess you could say that I depend on musicians. I'm a dancer, see, and I-"

"I'm not interested," he interrupted bluntly, "You're also a Duelist." He pushed aside a few locks of her auburn hair to reveal a dangling blue sapphire on her earlobe. On closer inspection, each person in the small group of friends had at least one piece of jewellery with a sapphire on it. The majority of the jewelry actually glittered full blue and silver.

"Damn, didn't even think to charge more," muttered Marik. Jonouchi gave him a long look, taking in the torn, skintight shirt Marik wore and his perfectly natural tan. The bartender sensed a darkening cloud coming in and hurried off to harass a rather attractive blonde that was down the bar. Bakura was already tensing up in anticipation.

"What's it to ya?" Demanded Jonouchi. "Not like it affects you in any way."

"This is Ghoul's turf," said Bakura, "Why would some Duelists in highschool be this far from home?"

"Think we're bottom of the barrel?" The brunette snorted. "For your information, Yugi here is the best I've ever seen with a chain." To prove it, the little one fished out a steel chain link from his pocket and dropped it back in. The clinking noise hinted that it was attached to more.

"Honda," warned Atem sharply.

"Guess you don't know a heck of a lot about Duelists," said Jonouchi offhandedly.

"They're one of the two biggest gangs in Domino," said 'Whisper', "The Duelists and the Ghouls. You'd have to be living in a closet to not know about the Duelists, the gang is overly public and leaning slightly towards a Merry Men deal. Bold, brash, and don't hide the fact that they have power. Ghouls, on the other hand, are far smarter about what they do, almost never getting caught and certainly not as ready to tear off a few heads if someone so much as looks at them wrong. Yes, mutt, I do know 'a heck of a lot' about Duelists."

"Scrap that," Bakura murmured, "He's Shadow tonight."

"What was that?" Asked Yugi curiously. Bakura narrowed his eyes in response.

Jonouchi was ready to boil over. "Don't call me mutt, I'm not a dog you-"

"You two had better not be starting another fight," a new woman sighed long-sufferingly. Honda and Jonouchi jumped at the sudden appearance of an exotically beautiful woman that had seemingly materialised on Marik's side of the counter, a habit she had picked up from 'Whisper'. Her resemblance to the bartending crowd pleaser flirting a little further away was striking.

"Not at all," replied Bakura smoothly, "They are."

"Isis," greeted 'Whisper/Shadow' smoothly.

She favoured him a small smile. "That's hardly a proper greeting for me."

He smirked slightly and leaned forward, using a long fingered hand to pull her head towards him. Bakura almost choked on laughter at the expressions on Anzu and Atem's faces as the two kissed- rather passionately for a greeting- over the bar. But when 'Whisper' tilted his head slightly, his dishevelled hair revealed a golden ear cuff that stood out from his other piercings. Atem's eyes narrowed when he realized that from his distance it looked strongly like a golden dragon.

"Ghouls," he growled.

"Calm down," soothed Yugi, "It _is _Ghoul turf. I'd think it was weird if we didn't find one."

"You too?" Honda asked Bakura lowly. In response, Bakura brought his hands up to tug on both of his ear cuffs. Why he had two over the standard one was beyond the Duelists, but that was really just typical Bakura. It didn't need a reason. Now that they were looking for it, the Duelists saw a matching ear cuff through Isis' trailing black hair as she kissed her longtime lover.

"Oi," said Jonouchi angrily, "Stop shoving your tongue down her throat and look at me!"

He did pull away, slow enough to drive the blonde crazy. Isis whispered for only him to hear, "If you're looking for a fight, Seto my dear, I request that you take it outside."

"I hardly want a fight," replied Seto Kaiba softly, "But of course I'll lead them out."

"Thank you." Isis stepped back and shooed Bakura away from a bowl of cherries her brother had left out.

"Girlfriend give you permission to-"

"Shut up dog, you're grating on my nerves." Seto turned full around and actually faced the Duelists as he leaned back against the counter, elbows propped back on the hard surface. His muscles were completely relaxed but Isis and Bakura knew only too well how easy it would be for him to knock the blonde punk across the room. The teenagers had actually formed a semicircle around him and Bakura during Anzu's initial attempts at catching his attention. Jonouchi was the one staring him straight in the eye with clenched fists.

"No Ghoul is gonna call me mutt and get away with it," growled Jonouchi.

"Then follow me outside so you don't ruin everyone else's night," said Seto cooly and he stood up. He was taller than all of them by at least a couple of inches and it seemed to sink in for Yugi and Atem at least, that he was not only older but was bound to have more experience than the hotheaded Jonouchi.

"Back down Jonouchi," said Atem sharply, "It isn't worth it. Let's just leave them and get out of here."

"No way! No Ghoul-"

"You said that already," interrupted Bakura. He snitched one last cherry and spun around on his stool. "Can't have you in a five on one now can we? I'll come out too and teach the kid a lesson."

"We'll be the ones teaching you a lesson you won't forget," said Honda. He seemed as primed for a fight as Jonouchi.

"Let's dance Ghouls," cackled Jonouchi, "I need to blow off some steam anyway."

Seto walked past him, giving Atem an unreadable look as he passed and headed for the doors. Atem decided then and there that he didn't much care for those blue eyes and their owner, especially when Seto easily caught some sort of walking stick that looked strongly like a sword sheath that Marik tossed his way. Bakura followed after him like an overly-eager dog. "Don't worry," he threw at Jonouchi as the Duelists followed, "We'll make sure you don't look too bad for school tomorrow kiddies. I promise."

'Mutt' certainly fit- Jonouchi growled low in his throat.

Anzu trailed a little bit after the others and kept pace with Atem. Her hand was in her pocket. "Should I...?"

"No," he said flatly, "Don't shoot until one our friends are dying. I'm sure not wasting a bullet on a Ghoul unless I know I can kill it."Anzu knew why he sounded so harsh and bitter. It wasn't exactly a secret why he hated Ghouls so much. She slipped her hand into his and felt a slight squeeze in return before he pulled away again.

The cool air outside was a big change from the inside of the bar. The Duelists shivered slightly as Bakura smirked and burrowed deeper into his jacket just to spite them. It certainly worked because Jonouchi glowered even more and kicked a trashcan in the alley they'd been led to.

"An alley," scoffed Honda, "That's original."

"At this hour, I highly doubt that there are enough people on any street nearby." Seto lit a cigarette behind his cupped hand and gave the Duelists a creepily blank look that sent a chill up Anzu's spine.

"That's it," snarled Jonouchi. He wrenched a chunk of broken pipe from one the dumpsters and faced Seto in a fighting stance.

"Do you even use your head?" Asked Seto quietly. "I know that you're a Duelist and everything, but stop and think for a second. You're- what? Sixteen? Seventeen?- and practically begging for a fight. Go home now and don't do something you'll regret."

"Don't act all high and mighty," spat Jonouchi as Yugi uneasily watched Bakura grip something in his jacket pockets, " You just don't wanna lose. I don't like it when people act all high and mighty- and I don't like guys like you!"

"When was I acting all high and mighty?"

Jonouchi had apparently reached the end of his patience and swung out hard at Seto. He was really good in a fight with the right weapon. But he didn't plan on Seto blocking it, cigarette balanced between his lips. The clashing sound of Jonouchi's pipe hitting the deep red swordsheath rang in the quiet night. The Duelist was close enough to have read the golden Egyptian hieroglyphs had he known the language. Seto flicked his cigarette away. "I would have liked a verbal response mutt," he said coldly.

A length of chain shot out at him, and guided by deft movements of Yugi's hands, came dangerously close to hitting Seto's face. The Ghoul brought his free hand to his cheek and felt a small trickle of blood as Yugi pulled back his chain with a satisfied smile. Jonouchi grinned and made to congratulate his friend. Seto noticed and his position changed in a heartbeat, his arm shooting up to deliver a solid blow to Jonouchi's ribcage. He crashed onto the ground with a solid WHUMP and struggled for breath as Anzu hurried to help him up. Bakura could hardly contain his glee.

Honda tried to land a blow also, but Bakura reminded them of his presence and tripped him. "Don't make me laugh," sneered Bakura, "Kiddies like you should stay in school. Lessons on the street tend to hurt."

Yugi struck out again, aiming for Bakura this time. Jonouchi had managed to pick himself back up and was lunging at Seto. Anzu stood back and watched every swing her friend delivered be pushed away by Seto like it was nothing. Atem was certainly torn between who needed help more- Jonouchi or Yugi. It's not like Yugi was in danger of being hit, seeing as Bakura was only jumping around and laughing his head off every time Yugi's chain came close. Jonouchi, on the other hand...

"Ack!"

Seto landed another sound hit and Jonouchi's pipe went flying when he hit the ground. This time he was much slower getting up. When he got into a sitting position, Seto closed his hand around the ornate gold inlaid handle and pulled the gleaming sword from it's sheath in a single fluid movement. He held the slightly curving tip to Jonouchi's throat.

Anzu reached into her pocket again and her fingers closed around her handgun. "Don't you dare hurt him!"

Yugi had stopped dead too and Bakura looked slightly put out at the lack of fighting. He sulked over to Seto and glowered behind his friend. "Why couldn't you have kept him going fora couple of extra minutes?"

"He doesn't need the humilation. Crawl back home dog, and start thinking about what battles you fight." Seto sheathed his sword, and just like that, it looked like it was over. And to him, it was.

Atem glared at Seto with venom. "Who the hell do you think you are? You don;t just break off in the middle of a fight."

"It means nothing to you," dismissed Seto, "Go home."

"Answer me," snapped Atem, "No one can put Jonouchi on the ground that fast. I've only seen a handful of people move like that and you aren't one of them."

Seto's icy blue eyes returned his stare with bored intensity. Something stirred in the back of Atem's mind, something important but too dim and distant to fully recall. He dismissed it as anger began to surface. "You have nerve, you know that? Pulling us out here and then just deciding to leave. A real Ghoul would fight us until someone was completly out," he spat, "I don't care much for your attitude here."

"Attitude? I'm not the one who wants to keep fighting out here. Now if you don't mind, it's late, and I don't feel like wasting my time with a bunch of wannabe Duelists like you." Seto went to walk past Jonouchi, only to have Yugi's chain sing past his ear again and hit Bakura square across the jaw.

The theif cursed vicously and seemed to ignore the blood dripping from the deep cut. "That's it, you little-" He was too livid to come up with a scathing enough name for the boy. He lunged before Seto could reach out and pull him back. Yugi blinked, and Bakura pulled a wickedly sharp knife out of his jacket pocket- one Seto recognized from a store window a few blocks from the bar. The short Duelist jumped back to avoid the full slash and took the blade across his upper left arm.

Atem raced forward and caught Yugi before he hit the ground in shock. "Call an ambulance," he hissed, and Anzu completly forgot her handgun and whipped out her cellphone. Jonouchi looked ready to knock Bakura's skull against the pavement as he watched Atem rip off his own sleeve to stop the blood pouring from the wound.

"I guess tonight wasn't a total loss," smirked Bakura. Seto muttered something that in his numbed state of mind, Atem believed was along the lines of 'sadistic '

"The ambulance is on the way," announced Anzu shakily.

"You... you-" Tristan struggled to find that right word to describe Bakura. Yugi moaned faintly and seemed to black out in his brother's arms.

"Well done," snapped Seto to overall surprise, "I really hate you sometimes. That wasn't necessary Bakura. Now there's a fricking ambulance coming and a kid bleeding all over the place. You are the biggest damn idiot I have ever met."

The Duelists stared at his sudden change of overall personality, but Bakura took it into stride. "I'm not the idiot here. That little brat drew blood first." He added, a bit more quietly, " Didn't think I'd actually cut him that deep anyway. I thought he was faster that that." Bakura only half-shrugged as Seto gave him a glare to freeze weaker hearts.

The sound of sirens was barely heard in the distance and Jonouchi supported Yugi as Atem rounded on the two Ghouls with fire in his eyes. He dropped into a low fighting stance, with tensed muscles and fingers splayed out. Seto vaguely remembered the stance, not that it was called White Crane, but he remebered someone very familiar using it before. He absently brought a hand to his left shoulderblade and his fingers grazed the area over a scar that trailed down to his hip and rose to the side of his neck. The stance was too recognizable for his liking.

"Mutou?" Seto murmured. Bakura's eyes widened beside him and stared at Atem with new interest.

Atem heard the whisper and his crimson eyes narrowed possibly further. "How do you know my name?"

"It is you," said Seto in surprise. Then his voice hardened. "Bakura, get inside. We're finished here."

"Don't even think about it," snarled Atem. That's when he shot forward and struck out with a powerful kick. Seto blocked with his sword once again and the two stayed in the position. "Answer me; how do you know my last name?"

"I'll tell you a story about a foolish old man and how he taught his grandson everything he knew." Seto's eyes closed as he knocked Atem away. "The boy was a natural leader, I won't deny that, but he was as foolish as his grandfather." He drove his elbow hard at Atem's ribcage and barely missed. "He had an older friend who tried to stop him from doing some incredibly stupid things. Not that the boy ever listened. Both had younger brothers." Atem was lucky to avoid Seto's next blow. "Another rival who wanted the role of Duelist's leader showed up one day, the boy got into a fight and his friend had to bail him out. The friend's brother was at the wrong place at the wrong time when the rival got angry. Tell me, starting to sound familiar?"

"There is no way that you could be him," gasped out Atem after Seto finally landed a clean hit to his side, "He's dead. Died with his brother." But his eyes flicked away. He knew that half of what he said was a lie. Seto didn't notice, as his eyes were still closed.

"Atem, what are you talking about?" Demanded Honda uneasily. Anzu reached for the comforting weight of her gun again.

"I didn't die with him- you just left me for dead when you found out that I wasn't one of you. That I wasn't planning on becoming a Duelist. I became a Ghoul after that incident and never looked back."

Atem actually looked afraid as he felt his legs be pulled out from underneath him. Seto had his sword unsheathed again and gazed down coldly at the Duelist. "Didn't think I'd ever see you again Atem," he said with that same chill, "You grew up to be a young man, and I really didn't recognize you at first."

"Atem," Yugi moaned. Jonouchi pulled him closer to the mouth of the alley. The sirens were closer now than they had been.

"Seto... Kaiba? Is that really you?" Atem crouched in a defensive position. "You ended up a Ghoul?" He snorted in disgust.

"Better that than dead or a Duelist," muttered Seto, "Get out of my sight. Now."

Atem's eyes closed briefly. "Traitor. Grandpa used to joke that you were my older brother, always trying to keep me out of trouble. Never returned the favor, did I? Is ten years too long?" He laughed to himself. "I don't feel like returning it anymore. Not after what happened back then and what your new 'friend' just did to Yugi."

Seto pulled back his sword, and Anzu took it as the first movement of a killing thrust. She pulled out her handgun and aimed at Seto's chest. "I'll shoot if you move again," she said sharply.

"A headshot is a killing shot," interjected Bakura pointedly. He just shrugged and hung back, totally unfazed by the weapon. "Inside, you were looking to date him."

"Anzu, calm down," said Atem gently, "He can't do it. He won't."

"Try me."

Two things happened very quickly. Seto gave a halfhearted swing to get Atem back on his feet, and Atem lunged forward to block and make an attack of his own. Anzu saw that Seto's sword would make contact and decidedly pulled the trigger just as the blade came close to leaving a wound on Atem's chest.

The gunshot was followed by silence as blood began to drip from a wound.

"Sweetheart? You missed me."

Seto smirked and let go of Atem's arm. Seto had pulled Atem over just enough to shield himself from Anzu's surprisingly good aim. The bullet had buried itself in Atem's shoulder and the Duelist collapsed in a heap at Seto's feet. "It's a non-lethal wound," he commented indifferently as Anzu dropped her gun and rushed over to Atem.

Jonouchi glanced between the two injured brothers in a sort of frenzied worry as Bakura sauntered past him, laughing his head off. Seto lingered beside Atem for a moment before sheathing his sword and shaking his head. "Wasted effort," he said under his breath, but Anzu caught a flash of something in his eyes. It was gone in a second.

"Hurry up ambulance," hissed Jonouchi as he gathered up Yugi and watched Anzu and Honda support the seriously dazed Atem.

"Make sure you stay away from now on," said Seto as he trailed after Bakura, "You can't win all of your battles.

"Atem recognized you," said Honda hoarsely, "Why?"

"Not talking tough anymore? Hmph, I'm sure he'll tell you everything you want to know when he wakes up. Stay out of my life, dweebs, and I won't make yours a living hell." And with those rather charming and slightly confusing parting words, he dissappeared around the corner and melded into the shadows as the ambulance pulled up.

Fifteen minutes later, Anzu was gripping Atem's hand in the back of an ambulance and apologizing over and over. "I shouldn't have shot," she whispered, "Having Yugi hurt is bad enough, we don't need you out too."

Atem blearily opened his eyes and took a moment to focus on her. "Not... your fault," he murmured, "Seeing Seto... suprised me. Got a little too cocky and a little too lazy." He closed his eyes again and remained still and silent until they arrived at the hospital. Jonouchi, with Yugi, had already decided that he couldn't much stand this Seto Kaiba and he was definetly getting a few answers. When he was sure that his two friends would be alright, that is.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

After watching the ambulances from the front door of the now closed bar, Seto returned inside to see Bakura sitting on the bar counter with Marik, recounting the suddenly much more thrilling and dramatic tale.

"-and so the little brat finally gets a lucky shot in and cuts my face up, and starts smiling like he's won it all. Let me tell you, he did not have victory for long, no should have seen his face when I got his arm with-"

He set his sword on one of the now-clean tables and felt slightly guilty that he hadn't been inside to help Isis clean up for the night. He'd have to make it up to her. Seto was shrugging his jacket off when Isis herself came up behind him and gently touched his shoulder blade. "Any injuries that I should know about? Bakura mentioned you took a bit of a hit."

"It's just a scratch," dismissed Seto, "Just barely bled."

Isis looked up at him, sea green eyes troubled as her thumb came up and lightly wiped away the small trickle of blood on his face. "It really was him, wasn't it," she said flatly. Not a question. "Fate often enjoys toying with us in painful ways. It shouldn't trouble you that he was here. Throw your hands up and move on.

"Throw my hands up? You've been listening to your brother talk nonsense again. I've never heard you use that term before," Seto chuckled, leaning back against the table, "What a romantic thing to say."

"Perhaps that wasn't the best time to forget my speech," she said with a rueful smile. She leaned in and wrapped her arms around Seto, feeling him return the embrace loosely. "Have they left us so soon? I half imagined that my bar would be in ruins by this point."

Bakura overheard and threw in his piece. "Yeah, they left in an ambulance. Good riddance, I say."

"An ambulance?" Seto winced a bit as Isis pushed him away and fixed him with a horrified expression. "You sent a few _teenagers _to the _hospital_? How on earth do I still stay in business with you three around here? I know you, Seto, and you certainly would not do that to anyone still at school age. Never mind that-"

"One was shot by the girl," interrupted Seto in his defense, "By his own friend. The other, however, was Bakura's doing. Just a slash to the arm – I'm positive that no major artery was hit. I swear."

"Bakura," called Isis sharply. Marik smirked and ducked behind the counter as Bakura caught the look and swatted out at him. Seto gathered his jacket and sword as Isis stalked up to reprimand the suddenly sheepish theif shrinking away from her. Oh yes, hell hath no fury like a woman. It made Seto love her all the more.

"I'm going to see Rishid," he told Marik quietly, "Call me again if she seems ready to kill him." Not so he could save the theif, but to watch with the bartendeer.

"Don't leave me here alone," whined Marik. But he still winked and settled himself in a spot where he got a good view of his sister scolding Bakura within an inch of his life. With luck, the theif would be humbled enough to let Marik pet him like a favorite dog afterwards. His fingers were crossed.

Seto slipped upstairs and the sound of Bakura protesting over hard words was blocked by the soundproofed door. Above the bar was the apartment shared by the three Ishtars, Seto, and Bakura. Seto lived there as Isis' lover, Bakura as some sort of adopted family friend. The kitchen was down with the bar, but upstairs were the the bedrooms- one for Seto and Isis, one for Bakura and Marik, and Rishid's- as well as a living room, the bar office, two bathrooms, and what had once been a dining room converted into a den. Not bad for five people, and the occasional 'guests' brought by Marik and Bakura.

He made a quick stop by his room and propped his sword by the guitar he had lovingly played earlier. The jacket he tossed onto the bed without a second glance. Seto stepped down the hall and softly knocked on the last door on the right.

"You may enter," came a hoarse, muffled reply.

"You look like crap," said Seto bluntly when he saw the person propped up in the bed.

Rishid offered him a small, tired smile as Seto leaned against the doorframe to his darkened room. "Thank you. I feel like it," he chuckled, "What's with the commotion I heard outside? Namely, the sirens?"

"Bakura happened." The answer was plain and accepted.

"My sister is downstairs scolding him then? I almost wish I could see it," joked Rishid. He coughed into his fist. "This awful cough has stayed longer than I had expected. I hope that it isn't passed on to any of you."

"We'll be fine. Do you want me to get you anything? Water, some of that medicine, that god-awful soup Isis made? Don't tell her I said that," Seto added quickly as Rishid laughed again, breaking into another fit of coughs.

"No, I think rest should be all I need. But I'd like to hear your story about what happened tonight."

Seto sighed and began to fill Rishid inon the basic facts. He found himself sitting in the chair beside the tall man's bed by the time he got to Bakura's attack. When he finished, Rishid's expression was similar to his sister's. Mildly frightening. "Both are in the hospital, and as far as I could tell, have non-fatal injuries," Seto said, voice taking on a bored tone.

"Hmm." Thankfully, Rishid accepted his judgement. "Atem. It is not a name I have heard you mention in a long time. I've heard whipsers about him, but not from your lips." He was subtley hinting at Seto's not so secret past with the Duelist.

"It's been ten years," murmured Seto, "I should be able to say his name, even with what happened."

"Ah. The Duelist's leader should be honored that you will mention him after all this time."

"After his display tonight, I wonder why no one has wrestled the title from him yet," said Seto bitterly. Rishid regretted even mentioning it until Seto slumped back in his chair with an expression that read 'I'm too tired to care about the world right now'.

Seto sighed. "Give me another minute to ask you a question, then I'll leave."

"You may ask one hundred and not regret it," announced Rishid.

"You'll have to take a raincheck on the other ninety-nine," replied Seto dryly, "I only have the brain power to deal with one right now. Do you know anything about what happened to Solomon Mutou?"

The question threw Rishid off guard. "I've no idea. If he'd died, I'm sure we would have heard about it, so I assume that he's still alive?"

"Alive? Hn. Alright, thanks Rishid, I'll let you rest." Seto stood quickly and made it to the door in stiff strides before Rishid's quiet voice drew back his attention.

"Pegasus may know something, or even Otogi's father. The man was an enigma on friendly terms with both the Ghouls and the Duelists. Seto," he added a bit more loudly, "Don't think too much on your encounter with Atem. I highly doubt that he will be coming back any time soon. Focus on your life now and not the past."

"You can't face the future by living in the past. I don't run, but I don't look back either," assured Seto. He glanced back at Rishid, and the sick man caught a glimpse of the strong, proud young man he was used to seeing. " Good night, and you'd better get over that damn cold soon."

"I will try," agreed Rishid with a nod and a smile.

Seto closed the door soundlessly as Bakura slunk past like a dog that had been kicked. "Lost that battle, huh?" He shot at him for good luck. Bakura threw back an anatomically incorrect suggestion and dissappeared to crawl into his warm bed. He'd bounce back in the morning like nothing had happened. Bakura was funny like that.

He returned to his own room to find Isis sitting on the end of their bed, hands folded neatly in her lap and back abnormally straight. "I'm in for a lecture, aren't I?" He asked tiredly.

"Not tonight," she said lightly.

"Really? Then why are you so stiff?" Seto stood in front of her and brought his head down to kiss her and rub her shoulders.

When Isis broke away, she sighed and let Seto bring his lips to her forehead. It was a gesture he used to comfort her when she was tense or unhappy, something he had figured out early on in their relationship. "Pegasus wants to see you in the morning," she told him, "He said he 'required your immediate attention in an urgent matter'. "

"And you don't like it... why?" Seto pulled away. "You do realize that I'm a fixer. Hell, Pegasus only calls me specifically if he or someone else is in deep."

"He knows that you're the best fixer the Ghouls have, as any intelligent man would," said Isis proudly. A light blush touched Seto's pale skin. "No, I have nothing against his call. I am merely still upset about tonight's little incident."

"I'll send flowers directly to their bedsides."

Isis gave him a pointed look. "You're just lucky that you weren't the one to shoot. Honestly, it's a miracle that I can still do business."

"You already mentioned that," reminded Seto, "At least it was outside and down a few buildings. Besides, my only intention was to scare off those punks. Not send them to the hospital. So am I forgiven?"

"I suppose," said Isis coyly. She leaned in and pulled Seto down for another kiss. Just as abruptly she broke the kiss and stood up. "I believe that it is one in the morning, and Mister Pegasus expects you at ten o'clock sharp. You must be awake and well rested when you see him," she teased.

"I've survived on less," groused Seto, "No using underhanded tactics like that again."

"Consider it punishment. Come to bed." Isis had already swapped her dayclothes for an oversized shirt that was technically Seto's and a pair of shorts that only saw wear when she slept.

Seto glanced down at his track pants. "I'm just not in the mood to care what I sleep in," he muttered, "Thank god I wasn't wearing that trenchcoat your brother gave me."

"The white one or the the purple one?" Asked Isis sweetly.

"Either. I like them, but entirely impractical. Like your brother himself, actually."

Marik, walking past, heard and couldn't help himself. "I say that you should've worn something that flashy for both of your shows tonight. I could've found a streetwalker costume for you. Even that dumb blonde one wouldn't have been able to resist you."

"Maybe," admitted Seto with a terrifying, cheerful smile, "But 'that dumb blonde' certainly thought you were irresistable, didn't he? If you're ever if need of dramatic, flashy clothing, feel free to wear any one of the 'gifts' you've ever given me. I really won't mind all that much. Just burn them when he's done touching, okay? I'd hate for his germs to contaminate our home."

Isis giggled behind her hand as Marik slunk off looking all too much like his white-haired roommate. "Seto, you are evil!"

"I don't have to be nice if I don't feel like it. I can be, but not if I want the last word."

* * *

Is that a good start? I hate first chapters, they have to set the stage and finding a creative, non-cliche beginning can be really difficult.

Reviews please, make my day.


	2. Chapter 2

I present to you another chapter of SETO. This one includes some new-familiar characters and more Seto action. This was actually a long time in coming, but it took me a while to get it to the point where I liked it.

See first chapter for rating, genre, etc please. I'm lazy and don't want to retype it out.

Yugioh and its characters don't belong to me. If it did, this would be the second movie.

* * *

**Chapter #2-Here's Your Book**

It wasn`t so much waking from a deep sleep as opening his eyes and finding himself back in reality, away from twisted dreams with dark shadows and haunting voices that played with his head.

Atem groaned and stared up at the ceiling of the hospital room. He felt... Fuzzy. Weak and fuzzy. It took a minute for him to remember why he was even there on the bed in the starkly white room. The last thing he remembered about the confrontation was hearing Anzu`s gun go off, and then staring right up into familiar blue eyes.

Remembering Seto made his head hurt even more. "Seto..."

"You`re awake!"

Atem turned his head slightly and saw Anzu bolt from her seat by the open window and almost crash into the side of his bed in her haste to reach him. "Oh Atem," she whispered, "I`m so sorry! I thought I had him, but instead I got you and-"

"How long have I been out?" Atem cut across her, voice hoarse and weary. He tried not to look into her bloodshot eyes. "You've been waiting for me to wake up all this time?"

"Only a few hours. It`s about five in the morning now, and we got here about midnight." Anzu gingerly touched Atem`s hand. "How do you feel?"

"Like crap. Wait- where's Yugi?" Atem struggled to sit up. A shooting pain in his heavily bandaged shoulder made him slump back against the pillows, but his eyes were wide and glassy with worry.

"He`s going to be fine. Jonouchi and Honda actually took him down to get something to eat and they`ll be back in a minute. The knife didn`t hit any major artery or anything, so he just needs to take it easy with that arm for a week or so," Anzu soothed.

Atem blinked languidly and stifled a yawn. "So... he`s alright..."

Anzu noticed that he was falling back to sleep and added, "He`s just worried about you now, but I`ll tell him that you woke up and that you seem to be doing better. Just... just try to rest up, please Atem? We were really scared for you."

"Hnn... I'm too tired to even argue that," Atem murmured.

Anzu watched him close his eyes and fought back tears again. She couldn`t stand seeing a weakened Atem. No one could. But his word hadn`t gone unnoticed, and suddenly this Seto Kaiba was a person of interest.

Pegasus J. Crawford was not a man to be outshined by anyone else. As entertainment mogul to the public, and secretly a leading figure of the Ghouls, his reputation for concieving some outlandish ideas wasn't exactly secret to anyone. Seto had known the man personally for years, but the new statue in front of his mansion was a jawdropper- an all time low.

"Croquet, your boss has lost his mind," said Seto with a grim expression. He surveyed the ten foot Funny Rabbit staring down at him with that insane grin and inwardly shivered. The man needed help.

The loyal servant seemed to think the same, as he shuddered. "Master Pegasus expects you in his private study and does not take lightly to tardiness. If you would follow me inside," he instructed. Croquet avoided looking anywhere near the nightmare-inducing rabbit and Seto did well to follow his example.

The interior of the stately mansion was completly unlike the cartoon character guarding it. All tasteful decor with European grace, rich colors, and a dignified air. Seto glanced at himself in a mirror he passed and realized that he really didn't fit in. Marik had gotten his revenge by hiding the one suit he bothered to own and every single jacket to boot. What had he left? The purple trenchcoat with the gold studs. So in a rare moment of defeat, Seto wore it in public. Isis has assured him that it wasn't that bad and if Pegasus had any comments on it he should mention the old cranberry leisure suit. Seto had kissed her twice for that and smacked Marik when her back was turned.

"Through here," said Croquet. He gestured for Seto to enter a door to his left and reached for the handle once Seto stepped inside. "Master Pegasus will be with you in a moment. Please make yourself comfortable while I announce that you have arrived."

Left alone, Seto walked slowly up to the handsomely carved oak desk. The study was huge and very nicely furnished. Well, minus the bookshelf filled with comics. That was mildly disturbing. And

there, behind the desk, framed by two floor to ceiling windows, was a portrait of Cecelia Crawford. Seto had only met her once, and that had been only weeks before her death. The beautiful woman had been Pegasus' life if Seto remembered correctly.

"I'm assuming that you would have found that statue outside amusing," Seto told the painting tonelessly, "After all, you did marry the man who commisioned it to be built."

"Talking to inanimate objects again Kaiba-boy? People will think that you have gone mad," chuckled a voice behind him.

"Too bad that's already happened." Seto turned to face Pegasus as the man entered the room. Pegasus noticed that there was no bitterness in Seto's voice, not like there used to be when someone mentioned the 'incident' or its side effects. He was only being matter of fact.

Pegasus adjusted the collar of his thankfully decent suit. "So nice to see you again, it`s been far too long hasn`t it? I simply love your trenchcoat by the way." He smiled slightly. "Would I have the pleasure of knowing who you feel like today? I'd like to get my names right."

"Funny. Could you just cut to the chase already? I don't feel like wasting time with idle chit-chat. Isis mentioned that this was urgent, and I myself don't have all day to play games with you."

"Ah, dear Isis. Your lovely companion. I'm so glad that she is doing well, and she may have told me that you are the same." Seto's eyes narrowed and Pegasus decided to stop teasing. "Please sit." He settled in his cushy leather office chair behind the desk and his smiled widened when Seto sat across from him without another word.

"Why did you ask for me?" Demanded Seto just as Pegasus opened his mouth to speak.

"Bussiness as usual," laughed Pegasus, "Just as well, this really is very important, Kaiba-boy, and I need your undivided attention. Tell me- are you familiar with the new exhibit at Domino Museum?"

"I'm walking out in roughly thirty seconds if you don't get on with it."

"Answer my question and I can continue," commanded Pegasus lightly. His guest sighed.

"Yes," admitted Seto grudgingly, "I've been to see it. The exhibit of written works, right?"

"Correct! All of the pieces on display belong to the museum, but a colleague of ours mentioned that a private piece was put on display at the last minute. I, unfortunaetly, did not notice it, but your job would involve said piece. Shall I continue?"

"It would be wasting both of our time if you didn't. I'm not in the mood to just walk out when this might be actually interesting."

"I do so love talking with you. Such interesting conversations we have had. Of course I shall 'get on with it'," Pegasus said cheerfully before sobering up and telling Seto everything he needed to know.

_'Listen up Kaiba-boy, because I can not stress how important this is. You remember our old friend Dartz, correct? He`s just returned from an excursion to London and contacted me with a little proposition.'_

_'Yeah, Bakura mentioned he was back in town.'_

"I`ll stick around the neighborhood and wait for your call," said 'Bandit' Keith Howard as he just made it through a yellow light. The luxurious Mercedes SUV stood out amidst the traffic of downtown Domino.

"Like you`re supposed to."

Keith smirked back at Seto, sunglasses glinting in the sunlight.

_' A mutual contact of his has offered a trade for something we can not possibly refuse. After considering your sensational abilities we have an offer to make you. I sincerely hope that you accept.'_

Seto`s nails dug into his uppper legs through the material of his cargo pants, just below the two holsters strapped across his hips. He`d actually scared Keith when he`d been picked up back at the bar, having been given an hour to prepare. The other Ghoul had never seen him in a shirt that revealed even the current two inches of midriff. It was a sight only seen when Seto was on a mission.

Blue eyes flicked briefly out of the window. "Stop up ahead. The building is the second one over. I`ll walk it."

Keith shrugged and pulled over immediately to a series of car horns.

_'I know that asking you on such short notice isn`t entirely courteous, but I imagine that you will find the payout rather... enticing.'_

_'Really? How enticing?'_

"Good luck man," called Keith as Seto vaulted from the back seat and slammed the door shut.

People passing by began giving him brief stares as the black vehicle pulled away from the curb with screeching tires. Seto supposed that it wasn`t the empty holsters so much as the red and gold swordsheath strapped crosswise to the back of his usual half jacket. He ignored them all and strode purposefully towards the towering office building.

_'You will be rewarded with a sum of ten thousand should you recover an object in the care of a certain accountant. He leaves Domino this evening at eight, and the target should be in his office. Our driver will give you the adress and the number of the office with the safe.'_

_'...Keep talking.'_

The heels of his kneehigh black combat boots clicked slightly on the tiled floors when he entered the lobby. The place reminded Seto of the public foyer of Industrial Illusions, Pegasus' company, minus the collection of cartoon character statues that were meant to dwell in his nightmares. A cursory sweep of the obvious places revealed no cameras visible, something that might have set off a warning bell for anyone else.

No one at the reception desk even glanced up at him. Seto wasn`t headed in their direction though, but for the service hallway tucked away behind a tacky fake plant. He ducked inside and rolled his eyes at the security camera trained on the door he`d just used. Typical.

It took all of two seconds for him to throw caution to the wind and pull one of his handguns out of where he`d hidden them in his jacket. The suppressor on the gun made the gunshot quieter, but not by much. He had to move fast when they realized that he`d shot the camera. Just like he was used to. Seto pulled the suppressor off and pocketed it before placing both of the guns in the holsters where they belonged. He was gone by the time security reached the corridor.

_'Deliver the object to it`s soon-to-be owner and collect the information she has- the locations of several key figures of numerous gangs we have had dealings with. Return to me and you will be rewarded. Not too difficult, eh Kaiba-boy?'_

_'It doesn't sound all that bad compared to some of the jobs either of you have sent me on before. But then again, nothing is ever that easy. Especially not when you say it so casually.'_

_'So you will accept? I promise to pay in full for your services.'_

Seto dashed up the stairwell as fast as he could. Twenty stories was no big deal. He couldn`t have risked the elevator if they were already looking. He thanked the gods that the building was large enough to buy him some time.

'These freaks always go for the highest office possible,' he thought sourly as he passed another marked door. 'Larger than life, egoistic-'

He very nearly missed the door marked with a black '20' and had to double back whe nhe reached twenty one. Exiting the stairwell left him in a bright hallway lined with identical white doors. Private offices. He was in the right place after all.

_'Tell your driver to meet me at my place in an hour. Except to see me again by tonight with your precious little list.'_

No one rushed out to apprehend him as he jogged down the length of carpeted hallway. That made him uneasy, but only for a moment. Seto read every plaque as he passed it and found himself getting steadily closer. Sure enough, it was halfway down on his left side. He placed a hand on the doorknob and listened intently for any noises inside. He could hear voices behind the door to his back, but nothing inside the targeted area.

"Guess no one lied when I was told they took a late lunch," muttered Seto when he entered. It was just a little reception area, the few chairs and desk completly deserted. The accountant was obviously small time to have such a small office for business. How he managed to get his hands on a piece of interest to a museum was beyond Seto, but he wasn't there to ask questions. He guessed between the two other doors across the room and chose the right.

It was a storage cupboard.

The actual office was possibly two times the size of the waiting area. And there were filing cabinets and bookcases lining the walls. Just no safe. There wasn't even a picture to have cheesily hidden it behind. Seto walked around to the other side of the desk and gingerly opened one of the top drawers. Pens, stapler, and assorted office junk. Not even a weird key for a hiding place or anything. He did a quick search of the other drawers while he was at it. Seto rifled through papers in search of the only reason he was there. Finally, in the bottom drawer on the right side, he had some luck.

It was carefully stored in a manila envelope, not sealed or anything. Seto peeked inside and saw a weathered book that was thick enough to account for the weight in his hands. A small slip of paper that he fished out from the bottom was marked 'Domino Museum to Mister C. Crump'.

"Jackpot," Seto murmured. He pulled out his cellphone and dialed the number of his ride out.

"_Y'ello?_"

"I've got it," announced Seto. He closed the drawer with his foot and tucked the envelope under his arm. "Meet me behind the building in five minutes."

"_Knew you could do it. Sure, I'll meet you there. It's what I'm paid for ya know." _

Seto was about to exit the room when he stopped dead. There were voices outside, and he could hear a gun clicking. The guards that had been so convienently absent on his way up were out in the reception area. Seto cursed inwardly and backed up a few paces. Shooting the security camera had sped up their arrival."Change of plans. Meet me there in two minutes with the engine on and the door open. I've got company."

"_Last time this happened you jumped out a window._"

"Last time it was four stories. Just get the hell down there and wait." Seto snapped the phone shut angrily and put the small device in his pocket again. 'So much for easy.'

The door- which he had wisely closed when he entered- banged open just as he pulled out his sword. He found himself staring down the barrels of two guns before he could do much else. The two men weren't your average security. If the suits were any indication. Seto swore under his breath and took another step back when he realized that he'd overlooked the possibility of 'Mr. Crump' hiring private guards if the book was that valuable.

"Don't move," ordered one of the guards, "We have strict orders to shoot anyone if they disobey. Please hand over the package and you may be let off easy."

"Come on Mr Kaiba, hand it over," said the other.

Seto's mind blanked out for a minute. "What did you just call me?" He took another step back, thrown off his guard. He'd never seen either before in his life, they had no reason to even guess. So how did they know his name? Hell, he hadn't publicly used the name in years.

"Surprised?" The bulkier of the two saw emotion flit across Seto's face and chuckled. "Mr Crump got a tip that the only person stupid enough to try and steal from him would know the name Kaiba."

"I'm sure a lot of people do," said Seto through gritted teeth, "Wasn't Kaiba the last name of some corporate powerhouse? KaibaCorp?"

"Don't pretend that it's not personal. So come on, you have to tell your name to the police anyway, why not let us in on it," smirked the bulky talker. The second took a few steps forward and held out a hand, presumably for Seto to hand over his prize.

"Like hell," he muttered darkly.

Seto made to move forward and give the book to him, and when the man reached forward just a bit more he struck. The sword just managed to graze his hand but it was enough to startle him into dropping the gun to clutch the small wound. The other shot at Seto a moment later when he realized what had happened, but Seto was already moving.

He was a quick thinker. Intelligent, quick witted, and one variable adjective- Isis would say occasionally reckless, Bakura and Marik fearless. Last minute escape insincts kicked in and drove him to dash for the windows. He felt a few other shots pass dangerously close to him. By the time the guards recovered their wits enough to get their aim close enough he was jumping.

Shattered glass flew around him as Seto leapt clear through the pane with an arm shielding his face. He could hear more gunshots as he angeldived close to the building and down at an alarming pace- for anyone else. People on the street began to scream. Seto smiled slightly and figured that floor five was a good place as any to reenter with a bang. He twisted his body just enough to change the angle of his dive. He'd made sure with his jump to be within arm's reach of the building for just this sort of maneuver. Seto reached out and grabbed one of the slightly protruding ledges between the floors and swung his legs down in a perfect arc. In the span on barely ten seconds from the initial jump, he crashed feetfirst through his second window.

The sheer adrenaline rush of the moment was beyond perfect. The part of Seto's mind, the part that had been broken by the past and pieced together for whatever he had to call a future, registered only the raw emotion and not the biting glass shards flying around him like diamonds. He laughed almost maniacly as he rolled across the floor of some hall. There were actually a few workers not far from where he landed and their shrieks of surprise were music to his ears.

Seto dashed in the direction of the familair stairwell with the electric buzz still coursing through his veins. He could hear shouting from above, but it was faint enough to be only a minor concern. No, his long legs would carry him faster than the men would be able to catch their wits. There were times were he loved being him to the point of narcissum.

"Out of my way," he snapped at two passing young women by the door onto the stairwell. One looked ready to give him a piece of her mind, but dodged out of the way with her startled companion. Apparently she saw the guns and sword and let common sense take over. Seto mentally congratulated her.

"I see him!" Roared someone up the stairs as Seto dashed down with skipped steps and sharp turns. The book in the envelope was clutched protectively to his chest. He was almost on the second to last landing when one of the two idiots tried to shoot at him. One bounced off of the railing closest to Seto and echoed horribly in the confined space.

Just as Seto tore across the last clear space for the door he felt something rip jsut above his shoulder. There was no time to assess the damage, but when he started his sprint through the service hall after narrowly avoiding bowling an elderly janitor over he felt something warm trickling down his back. He felt litle more than a twinge at the moment.

"Perfect," he snarled to himself, "Just friggin' perfect." He didn't much like the prospect of another scar to mar his skin. And Isis' reaction... It made him inwardly shudder even as he bolted past the occasional frightened worker.

He could feel the vibrations of his phone in his pocket. Keith was no doubt trying to figure out why Seto had overstepped the five minute mark. It didn't seem as long to Seto, but the rush of before still held strong. He didn't bother answering, and it still rung when he reached the emergency exit.

The two guards had barely swung the last sharp corner when Seto slammed the heavy metal door with his uninjured shoulder and he flew onto the loading dock. The sight of the familair Mercedes with Keith hanging out of the window, phone to his ear, was faintly relieving. Seto didn't have to say anything, Keith simply saw him and the engine came to life with a roar. This time Seto was on the passenger side of the vehicle and he jumped into the front seat without hesitation.

"Who the heck is cha-"

"Drive," snapped Seto as he slammed the door shut behind him.

Keith practically floored the pedal to escape the alley. Seto stared out the back window in anticipation for when the two guards finally made it out. It wasn't until Keith nearly made it to end of the alley and onto the busy street that the two were just barely visible on the loading dock. But then the vehicle sharply merged with traffic and they vanished around the corner.

"Thank god for blacked out license plates, eh?" Joked Keith after a few awkward minutes where he focused on weaving his way onto a lesser used road leading away from the office building and Seto on listening intently for signs of pursuit. "Relax, man. You did good."

Seto twisted himself back to face the front and slumped back against his seat. He rolled his shoulder experimentally, somewhat pleased that it was only a minor, dull ache from the near impact. Barely bleeding any more as a bonus. "There wasn't any normal security," said Seto, "Just a couple of private guards hired by the accountant. Like he knew someone would show up."

"You gave 'em the slip," dismissed Keith nonchalantly, "They don't know who you are, just that you totally got 'em fired. Chill out. Anyway, what's in the envelope? Better be worth the time."

Seto sighed , not mentioning that they _did _know who he was, and slid the book half out of the envelope for Keith to see before sealing it again. "A book. I recognize it from a museum exhibit where Rishid works. Supposedly dates back to seventeenth century England. Worth almost as much as this car, if Pegasus was right."

Keith whistled. " I'm kinda ticked that it was just a measly book, but that price tag changes my mind. Wonder what it's about."

"Poetry, supposedly."

"You're kiddin' me," said Keith flatly, changing lanes in the middle of an intersection, "You just risked life and limb for _poetry_?"

"I'm not. Almost two hundred pages of handwritten poetry and illustrations. Absolutely priceless to the right collector." Seto placed it across his lap. "The recipient has two other volumes like it and wants a complete set. Even went so far as to use some less than legal means to get it. I guess our Mr Crump here got it off of the black market to start with."

"Got what was coming to him then? I like the sound of that," cackled Keith, "So did ol' Pegsy say what we'd get out of it? Aside from my chauffering fees and your 'undisclosed' payout that is. We're not the cheapest people he could've called, so it's gotta be something he really wants bad enough to go to the extra trouble."

Seto shrugged and closed his eyes, leaning back in his seat. " Names and locations. Of people the Ghouls are keeping an eye on. I'm not sure how many or what specifically he wants them for, but it doesn't take a genius to see that it'll be important."

"Guess I'll just have to wait for him to explain it all."

"He won't," muttered Seto, "He'll keep it to himself until he gets bored."

"Sure about that?" Chuckled Keith at the conviction in Seto's voice.

Seto gave him a pointed look. "We're still talking about Pegasus J. Crawford, right? Eccentric, unpredictable, manipulative bussinessman and Ghoul?"

"Yeah, guess you're right. Someday he'll turn a new leaf and do something nobody expected, like make sense with his little speeches or stop it with all the Funny Rabbit crap."

"I'll sooner die of cardiac arrest."

Jonouchi and Honda argued a few minutes before Honda grudgingly pulled out his wallet and paid the cab driver what they owed for the ride across Domino. It felt considerably lighter when he pocketed it again and glowered at Jonouchi as the cab drove off. "You need to get a decent paying job, because that's a lot you owe me now. Why are we even out here?"

Jonouchi shrugged. "This is where my sources told us to go. So here we are."

The docks of Domino City weren't exactly where Honda had expected to end up, but there they were, six o'clock and the sun was beginning to set. Totally where he wanted to be on a Friday night. The two had left Anzu and Yugi at the hospital while Atem slept and headed off on what Jonouchi called recon. "Maybe your 'sources' need to get their heads checked.," muttered Honda.

Naturally, Jonouchi didn't hear him. "We're lookin' for warehouse 23. Should be on the right side. Or was it left...?"

Honda groaned and started trailing after his friend grudgingly. "We should've stayed for when Atem woke up."

"He's totally out of it," dismissed Jonouchi, "And I don't think I could sit still for that long. I wanna find out who this Seto Kaiba is and how he could know Atem."

"You're kidding." Honda stared at his old friend in disbelief. Now he knew why Jonouchi had been so quiet at the hospital, something that only happened when he was scheming or stuffing his face. Not that the eating thing was at all quiet. "I really shouldn't have come along. Or let you come here! Those 'sources' shouldn't be letting you commit suicide like this."

"There's eighteen here, nineteen on that side," Jonouchi continued without hearing Honda.

Honda reached forward and spun Jonouchi around, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Are you out of your mind?" He shouted. "Listen to me!"

"Get a grip man," began Jonouchi.

"No, you get a grip! This Seto Kaiba guy is not someone you mess around with, dude, didn't you see him go at it with Atem? _He _couldn't land a hit, you couldn't even _try _to hit him, and he totally wasn't afraid of Anzu actually managing to shoot him. The guy is past our level by a long shot. Waaay out of it."

"A creep with a sword and some fancy moves doesn't scare me," scoffed Jonouchi, "He just got lucky."

"He didn't just have a sword you idiot. Under that coat I saw a gun. He's not some small time Ghoul, Jonouchi, he's pro. Don't you get it at all? There's no way I''m gonna let you get involved with someone that could kill you and not lose any sleep over it." Honda shook his friend for added emphasis.

"Chill out." Jonouchi shrugged off his friend and started walking again as a slight breeze ruffled his hair and coat. "And for the record, I'm not gonna go after him on my own. Nice knowin' you think I'm a total idiot."

"You can't lie to me," snapped Honda.

"I'm not. All I want is the dirt on this guy in case I see him again," shrugged Jonouchi, "Nothing too bad about that. But that white-haired freak is another story. He actually got Yugi, so I got rights to him."

"Jonouchi. You said we were here to get some info on Seto Kaiba. I hate the other one too, but I wanna get back to the hospital soon."

"Well that's good, 'cause I only found someone who could tell anything about this Kaiba," grinned Jonouchi, "Told me to come here to meet someone who knew more about him, actually, but I'm not complaining. It's a start. So let's-" He stopped dead and blinked. "Do you hear something?"

Honda sighed and pulled Jonouchi into a headlock. "No I don't hear the voices in your head," he said through gritted teeth.

"Shut up! And it's not voices, it's a... car engine?" Jonouchi listened hard. "Yeah, man, don't you hear it?"

That's when Honda began to hear it too, the sound of an engine not all that far away. "Geez, you were right."

"Think we should get out of sight before comes? No telling what it is or if they're gonna like us being here," suggested Jonouchi sheepishly, "Just an idea."

"Yeah, I gotta agree with you there," said Honda as the sound came closer.

Jonouchi dashed for warehouse 23 with Honda on his heels. There was a service entrance on the side of the building and they tumbled inside just as a black Mercedes screeched around the corner. They thought it was just a joyrider or something that would just keep going, but they were wrong. A minute later they saw the sleek black vehicle brake right where they had been standing. Two peeped out of the door and only saw the front part of the hood from their angle but they could hear very faint voices from within. A moment later two doors seperately opened and were shut again. The one on the driver's side was slammed with slightly more force than the other, Honda noted distantly. He feared that they had the misfortune of having chosen the entrance of the building and was all ready to either fight or take flight. The people who owned the Mercedes however, seemed to know about a different entrance. Their was the clicking of heels on the pavement until another door opened and there was silence.

After a moment, Honda poked his out off the cracked door. "I think they're inside here now. C'mon Jonouchi, let's just get the heck out of here and forget about this whole-"

"This way," called the blonde, already heading through a second door leading deeper into the warehouse. He left Honda standing in the service room on his own. There was a moment of silence where Honda was too stunned to move. Then he scrambled after Jonouchi with the intentions of wringing his neck and dragging him back across town. He caught a flash of movement on top of a ladder and pulled himself up as quietly as possible. At the top, he nearly tumbled into a crouched Jonouchi.

"Quiet," hissed Jonouchi when Honda opened his mouth to tell him off, "Someone's comin' in here and I don't think it's to look at a few crates."

Both looked out through the railing of the round the room walkway and at first glance saw only crates of who knows what stacked to one half of the room. Jonouchi was definetly right about lack of interest in crates. A folding card table with two chairs had been set up in the center of the unoccupied space, and one of the chairs was occupied by a young man with a shock of white hair, flanked by two nasty lookinng behemoths in suits. Totally at odds with the boyish one's cream cardigan.

"And our drivers are..." Jonouchi glanced briefly to two other people entering the dim warehouse. One was a rugged-looking man wearing a bandanna that looked like the American flag– Jonouchi made a mental note to find one of those- and dark sunglasses. But the other...

"Seto Kaiba," deadpanned Honda, "We're in the same room as the guy that almost got Atem killed. Jonouchi, I hate you."

The first thing that Seto noticed about Ryo Bakura was that he was almost too young to be a supposed museum curator. Too young for such a position, too innocent to deal with gangs, too well dressed for the current setting, too unlikethe person that Seto had been expecting to meet in a closed warehouse over stolen goods. Not to mention that he shared a last name with a certain bi-polar theif. That was just creepy.

It wasn't exactly love at first sight, to put it bluntly.

Ryo didn't seem to feel the same. He smiled brightly at Seto as he and Keith approached his little table. The suits-for-hire by him only glowered when Keith cheekily waved at them.

Seto got straight to business. "Here's your damn book," he said without preamble, holding out the envelope in front of the boy.

"Marvelous," he whispered with shining eyes. Just like a kid, thought Seto. Ryo reached out and inched the book out almost reverently. "Beautiful, undamaged, original binding. It's a masterpiece," he said dreamily.

Seto gave him only a minute to examine his new addition to a no doubt vast library. He wasn't a killjoy by any means, but business was business. "You owe the Ghouls something in return," he reminded dully, "A list. Just give it to me and the transaction will be done." His eyes flicked briefly to the upper walkway when he thought he saw some movement. Seto dismissed it as nothing.

"Wouldn't you like to sit down for a moment?" Asked Ryo pleasantly. "I can't offer you any refreshment, but conversation I can."

"Look kid," began Seto sharply, "We're here to do business, not to-"

Keith drove an elbow into his side and grinned down at Seto when the startled man voiced a very uncharacteristic yelp, amused to see the much leaner of the two clutched his side and glared up at him. "C'mon, you've been on your feet all day, might as well sit down for a minute. Not like I'm gonna leave you without a ride out here," chuckled Keith.

Seto stared at him before hissing under his breath, "Are you insane?"

"Keep the contacts happy for more business," whispered Keith in response, "If anyone can do it, you can." He shoved Seto forward lightly, who after staggering for a step smoothed out to an even walk and took the seat across from Ryo. The young British man smiled brightly across the table.

Seto sat with a rigidly straight back and clenched fists on the flimsy wooden table. He was _not _pleased with this at all. He wanted to get the list, hand it over to Pegasus, and maybe get an hour of sleep before he headed down to help at the bar for the night. Simple enough, right? The last thing he needed was a chat with the British brat while his grunting guards watched on.

"I've heard about you before, Seto," said Ryo cheerfully, "Apparently you're the best that the Ghouls have to offer. I'm honored that my proposed trade merited your participation, much less that you accepted the job offer."

"If it pays well it's worth doing," muttered Seto.

"Surely you aren't just in it for the payouts? There must be something that attracts you to a job in the first place," remarked Ryo, "Only the truly intelligent know that money is never just the case."

Smart kid. Grudgingly, Seto decided to humor him. "There might be more to it, yeah."

"Do share." Ryo leaned forward eagerly. He took one look at Seto's sour expression before hastily pulling out an envelope similar to the one holding his new book. "Answer me and I'll give this to you, and you are free to leave if you wish. I'm a Ghoul, too, as you probably already know."

True, Seto had seen the glinting eearcuff through the white hair, and he believed that if you couldn't trust one of your team members you couldn't trust anybody. And that envelope held his prize, something he couldn't ignore no matter how much initial dislike he had for the one waving it in his face. He decided to humor the boy just this once. "I look for the impossible," he stated simply.

"The... impossible?" Ryo blinked in confusion, even Keith leaning in to hear more.

"Not just the impossible, actually," elaborated Seto, "Things no one else in their right mind would do. Thrills, danger, something to give a shot of adrenaline to course through your veins. I refuse to sit on the sidelines when I can be doing something, feeling that plummeting feeling of the drop or the slipstream of the bullets. I'll do it if there's a real challenge to it or the promise of something interesting shaking things up a bit. See kid? You're right, not everyone's looking for some fast cash, though it doesn't hurt."

"Total adrenaline junkie," breathed Keith, pleased with the new information.

"I must admit, you've certainly won me over more," chuckled Ryo nervously, "I admire people like you, I truly do. You and I are so _unlike _one another it isn't even funny." As an afterthought, he slid the envelope across the table, which Seto took without his eyes leaving Ryo's.

"The transaction is completed. Pleasure working with you," said Seto formally. He stood abruptly and swiftly began to walk away, jerking his head to indicate that Keith should go ahead and start the car.

"I have merely one more thing to ask," called Ryo.

Seto clenched his teeth in frustration and halted. "What?" He demanded without turning around.

"You are familiar with a Mr Solomon Mutou, correct?"

The gears in Seto's mind ground to a slow stop. Why? Why did that name have to keep popping up? He slowly turned around to look at Ryo again. "What did you say?"

"Solomon Muto," repeated Ryo, "It was mentioned to me once that you two had a history together, and I have never found much information on the man myself. Only that he was a great Duelist that is treated with utmost respect by the younger generation. I would like to learn more about him and I was hoping you could enlighten me on your relationship. Are you still in contact with one another?"

"Haven't spoken with him in almost fifteen years," said Seto bitterly, "As for our history, it's personal. All you need to know is that he and I were pretty close back in the day. Until his darling grandsons made my life miserable, that is."

"Grandsons?" Ryo gasped. "Oh, you must mean-"

"I think about as highly of the Mutuo family as I do of my stepfather," interrupted Seto harshly.

"Who is your stepfather?" Asked Ryo automatically. One look at the expression in Seto's eyes made him instantly rethink. "Scratch that, what are your feelings for him?" Seto smirked darkly, blue eyes hardened to shards of ice.

"I despise him."

And with that, Seto turned his back on the young man and stalked out to where Keith was waiting, not bothering to look back at all.

* * *

And so ends another exciting chapter of SETO. Read, review, comment please.

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

SETO returns with chapter three. It had been way too long, I've even surprised myself.

Two things delayed me: First I had everything typed out and ready to post. Then my computer crashed and it looked like twelve straight pages of: #################. So my laptop went to be fixed for two weeks, and then there were all sorts problems afterwards with recoveries and stuff. Everything finally seems to be working again after three weeks with Windows Seven. Not to mention finals week has been keeping me busy. Three finals and I've been studying so much that I have no life anymore. ;_; So while I was going to upload last month I have been totally swamped with last minute work by my teachers.

So yeah, no more ranting, read. Enjoy. Disclaimer at chapter one, because I don't own Yugioh as mush as it pains me to say.

**Chapter #3 – A Small Show of Trust**

Isis watched in mild amusement as Marik and Bakura took turns tossing cherry stems at an empty shot glass. Normally she dissaproved of Bakura sitting on top of the counter when they were open, but it was an impossibly slow night and as bored as he was at least Bakura was quiet at present. She left him be as she idly redried glass after glass in the racks. Rishid was upstairs in their living room, quietly reading and resting last she'd seen him. And Seto was in bed.

The thought of his return made Isis giggle to herself. He'd come back about seven thirty looking thoroghly exhausted, probably more from dealing with Pegasus' congratulations than the actual recovery. She'd found herself cornered in the kitchen and Seto had kissed her within an inch of her life as per the usual ritual. No matter how tired or sore or ticked off he was he gave her that much time to send away her worries. Isis, as much as she'd rather he let her look after him, had promised to wake him if she should need his help with the bar.

"Should you go and check on him?" Asked Marik absently as if he read his sister's mind, which he had an uncanny habit of doing. "Make sure he hasn't died in his sleep or something."

"Marik," scolded Isis, appalled.

"I'm only joking," waved off the blonde. He winked at her. "We're all very well aware of what it would take to bring him down."

"Yeah, an entire truckload of alcohol and a dozen or so bullets is the only thing that'd do it," chuckled Bakura. The two dissolved into helpless laughter as Isis glared at their immaturity. Still...

"Please try not to scare off potential customers dear brother," she said drily. Draping her towel over Marik's shoulder as she breezed past him, she allowed a tiny smile to match his wolfish grin. Dysfunctional little family yes, but highly entertaining and completly lovable.

It was almost as quiet upstairs as it was down. Ceratinly much more dimly lit, Isis cautiously felt her way through the kitchen to the hall where the soft glow of the lamps illuminated enough to see without stumbling. She quietly went to their door and was mildly surprised to find it partially open. Isis poked her head int o find the bed neatly made despite the late hour- a weird habit of the perfectionist Seto's- and her boyfriend nowhere in sight. However, she did notice the roll of bandages and medical tape on the bedside table and a loudly striped hooded sweatshirt wasn't on the dresser where she'd last seen it. He only wore that when he wasn't in the mood to deal with appearance.

"I swear, if he's gone out without my knowing I will-" Isis stalked past the only lit room again and was almost in the kitchen before she remembered that Rishid was up there also. She retraced her steps and peeked into the living room.

Rishid glanced up from where he read in a worn armchair by a table light when he felt eyes on him and smiled at his sister. "Hello," he greeted softly, "Are you looking for something?"

"Yes, actually, I am," replied Isis with a sigh, "he's slightly shorter than you, nearly too thin, with blue eyes and hair that is brown this week. I should also mention that he's far too stubborn for his own good."

"Hey, I resemble that remark."

"Seto," gasped Isis when he raised an arm. Seated crosslegged on the floor in front of their couch, Seto leaned back against the piece of furniture with completly relaxed muscles.

"You know, Isis, you passed right by me twice," he said with a smirk in his voice as Isis walked around the couch and sat, taking the hand he'd raised and kissing it.

"I honestly thought you'd gone out," she admitted quietly.

"No, still here with your brother, who's been doing a fantastic job of ignoring me."

"Should I be listening?" Asked Rishid in a low voice. The twinkle in his eyes was teasing despite the tone.

"Not at all. I highly doubt that the ramblings of a mad man would interest you all that much. That's why you have Marik anyway," dismissed Seto offhandedly, "I'm doing a fine job of entertaining myself. Go back to your book."

This was a side to his personality that was equally endearing and disturbingly unlike the normal Seto. It was abnormally upbeat and talkative, at odds with the majority of Seto's usual mannerisms. Bakura and Marik had dubbed it 'Seth' just as they had coined Whisper, Shadow, and all the others. Deciding to treat his personality and mood swings as unique entities had seemed a good way to pass the time when they did it. Now even Seto and certain others they knew could identify by the different names with ease.

"You never said that you were hurt," said Isis evenly, "Don't tell me, a bullet wound? Seto how could you not say something?"

"I didn't see the point. It started bleeding again when I cleaned it up, but now I've bandaged it to be safe," soothed Seto, "It isn't much to get worried over. Barely clipped me in the shoulder, Isis."

"I have seen the minor wound as well, and I agree Isis," added Rishid, "We have seen far worse on Seto, I think he will live."

"I _know_ I'll live, thank you very much."

Isis lightly ran a hand across Seto's knuckles and twined her own quick fingers with his spidery digits. "If you say so..."

Seto shifted slightly, carefully favouring his bandaged shoulder as both Ishtars noticed. "Did you come up here for help with the bar? I wouldn't leave those two alone for that long."

"Tonight is slower than molasses," sighed Isis, "I really only came up to check on both of you. We may be able to close early tonight if few customers show up."

"Sort of... unusal, don't you think?" Rishid closed his book and his brows knit in confusion. " 'The Nameless Pharoah' is always so busy. We thrive in this area. After last night's number of customers, how can we have such a slow night?"

"I've no idea. An occasional change of pace is welcomed, though."

"Still, there's always somebody out to get drunk," pointed out Seto.

"And you two accuse me of thinking too much," laughed Isis. She stood up, pulling Seto along with her and immediately went about lightening the mood. "Come, sing for us. You can be our Piper to draw in more customers. Oh, one of these days we should find a secondhand piano, Bakura used to be so good with it. Rishid, would you join us?"

He smiled up at her, Seto's arm wrapped around his sister's shoulders. "Perhaps I shall. But only if Seto agrees to perfrom the song he honored us with for the last New Years."

"Which one?" Asked Seto drily as he and Isis led the way for Rishid downstairs.

"The one about poor Rosemary, would be nice now that I think about it, but I believe the one I'm thinking of was called 'All For Love' that we so enjoyed. Isis and I in particular. "

"Ugh, are you trying to kill me? I was drunk when I sang it. That song is dull as hell and I've forgotten half of the lyrics!"

"Seto, we all know that's a lie. Lyrics stick in your head as numbers do for some others."

By midnight Marik and Bakura were a little tipsy- not a surprise on slow nights- and Rishid had escorted them back upstairs so the three could turn in for the night. Several customers had ended up showing up, served patiently by Isis and entertained by Seto sitting at the bar and singing along with the soundsystem Bakura had left on. Soon it was just the two with an hour before closing to keep themselves busy.

"You'll be sore in the morning if you don't get a decent amount of rest," observed Isis as the last pair left a generous tip and vanished into the night. She turned off the speakers for some quiet.

"We'll see," said Seto absently.

There was a moment of companionable silence between the two as Isis fussed over the placement of a few bottles. Seto watched her with a small smile before remembering what Rishid had said before coming downstairs.

'Slipping through the hole where the moon don't shine  
Spent too long trying to make you mine  
Kept on running but I fell behind  
Butterfly better fly away this time'

Isis smiled luminously at the sound of Seto's singing filling the void of music. She loved it when he sang. His voice was fantastic and full of emotion, and he could really sing any kind of music he wanted. And better yet, he loved doing it.

'Lost my place in the line again  
Put it back on the shelf and let the dust settle in  
I always thought we'd that be more than friends  
I always thought that we were different'

She started to imagine a room full of people on some of their more hectic nights, everybody listening to Seto fill the room with music without so much as a microphone. He'd done it too many nights to count and it still awed Isis. Not a lot of people could connect the fixer and the singer as one. They'd discovered his talent shortly after he came to live with them and as far as they knew he hadn't been much for singing before that time.

'I'm all for love  
But I can't see the light  
Tell me how to do it  
Tell me how I'm gonna get it right  
I'm all for love  
I'm gonna try it again  
I don't wanna give up  
Cause I'm all for love'

Isis barely noticed as the door opened and promptly closed, she was too busy listening to Seto sing a song completly unlike his usual style. Not that the change was unwelcomed. It was only unusual.

'Nobody knows where the hell I've been  
Gonna make a fool of myself again...'

Seto trailed off suddenly with a low growl deep in his throat, a sound that didn't sound right coming from his thin, graceful form after the melodic singing. Meek clapping made Isis jump and stare at the two standing by the doors. It was the boy who clapped, but the girl skipped up to Seto with a wide smile. "That was so nice, but last night was better in my opin-"

She found herself staring down the barrel of a gun. Seto's grip was whiteknuckled but his finger wasn't even close to the trigger. "Anzu, right? And your little friend is Yugi? Why did you come back here?"

"We're not here for any kind of revenge," said Yugi quietly. He came up and climbed up onto a stool a few down from Seto as Anzu backed up to stand beside him.

After a moment, Seto lowered the gun and placed it on the counter within easy reach. "How's your brother?" He sighed.

Yugi blinked, clearly not expecting the question after the what had happened the night before. "He's going to be okay... Weak and the painkillers are making him drowsy, but he's going to be fine."

"I suppose that's a good thing," muttered Seto. He looked so weary all of a sudden, not at all threatening or imposing. It caused Anzu to edge closer to him. Isis pretended not to notice her eyes on Seto and bit back the urge to put the girl in her rightful place, turning her back and pretending to adjust the glasses in her favored rack. A habit of hers that couldn't be curbed.

Yugi fiddled with the hem of his too large coat nervously. "Um... We came to... Well, we just came to ask you a question."

Seto tilted his head to one side. "You went out of your way," he said slowly, "Across town from Duelist territory . Back to where you got into a losing fight. All to ask _me _a _question_?" He snorted and leaned back against the counter again. "I guess I owe you that much, don't I? Ask away kid, and keep your maneating friend away from me. I think Isis is feeling a little bit possessive right now."

"Seto!" Isis blushed hot red and tossed the nearest dish rag at him. He only caught it easily and offered her a small smile as Anzu took the hint and backed up by Yugi again. They all knew she'd probably try again when Isis wasn't around. The thought amused Seto slightly.

"Okay, erm..." Yugi chuckled anxiously to himself. "I'm here right now and I don't know how to word it."

"Take your time," said Seto drily.

Anzu sighed and clasped her hands together. "We just wanted to ask why you and Atem know each other!"

Isis flinched internally and watched Seto for a reaction. He remained eeriely calm despite the question, something that unnerved her greatly. Seth was lingering still. "What I mean is," continued Anzu hurriedly, "He seemed kind of strange when your name came up and, well, we want to know more about the two of you. Um, together, like your past and why Atem said those things he did. He didn't even recognize you at first."

"I'm not surprised. He probably blocked it or forgot altogether," muttered Seto. They couldn't help but notice that he sounded vaguely dissappointed.

"Please tell us, because I know he won't," pleaded Yugi, "We'll leave as soon as we know a few things."

"You shouldn't be here regardless," began Isis, "You're underage and should not be out after being admitted to-"

"Isis."

She looked at Seto, startled. He leaned in and whispered in her ear, a lock of hair curled in his fingers. "I'd like to deal with this on my own," he breathed, "Please. If... Atem never told him about a very bloody past... Someone new should know the story too. The kid can't stay in the dark forever."

"This isn't like you at all," argued Isis softly.

"Trust me just this once to do something I might regret later," he said, clearly seeking her approval, "Part of me wants to see the reaction, yes, but there's also a part telling me that this could be a good thing. He doesn't seem anything like his brother."

Isis heard the faint plea for trust in his words and that was all it took. She kissed him abruptly across the lips. "I will turn in for the night," she whispered, "Seto... Know what you are doing before you make any moves. But I do trust you, so goodnight."

Anzu seemed delighted as Isis slipped upstairs with the hopes of seeming dignified, when really she wanted to run. The satisfaction wore off somewhat when she realized that Seto was watching after her almost wistfully.

Yugi fidgeted nervously. He looked shockingly like prey in the lion's den. "I had a thousand questions before we came to see you, but now I don't know what I should say or even where to start."

Seto picked up his forgotten glass of water and watched the two teens over the rim. "Choose wisely," he said, " I will only answer what you specifically ask, nothing more. I also reserve the right to withhold some information and not answer certain things. Understood?"

"That makes it harder," pouted Anzu. She recieved a look that clearly read 'not my problem'.

"Hmm... Okay," said Yugi slowly, "I think I know where to start now. So I'll open with this: how did you meet my grandfather and for how long have you known him?"

"Better than once upon a time," chuckled Seto. He took a long sip of water. "Alright kid, that was a good start. I'll just need to work into the question a bit."

"And what's your answer?"

"To start, I was about seven, so that's a bit over twenty years ago, and I was always running away from where I lived."

"Why do something like that? Were you just rebellious?" Pressed Anzu.

"My stepfather was a cruel, abusive man with no rights to look after children. He came to the orphanage that took us in for a publicity stint to promote his image. I... I was always keeping away from other possible adoptive families because I wanted to find the right future for us. A rich man that had the world at his fingertips, the ability to help change the world, seemed like the perfect candidate. As ridiculous as it may sound, I challenged him to a game of chess with some high stakes. I won. And he adopted us."

"Us?"

"It was never about me. Never did I worry about my future. I wouldn't have challenged that wretched Gozoburo Kaiba if it weren't all for my younger brother Mokuba. He was all I had for a long time."

"You were adopted by _Gozoburo Kaiba_?" Anzu looked positively dumbstruck. "He's owner of the most succesful weapons corporation in the world! You two were so lucky. I didn't know he had any adoptive children."

"Lucky? Hah. Didn't you hear what I had to say about him? The man was a beast to us. More me than Mokuba, anyway, but I was worried about what he would have done to my brother if given the chance. Obssessed with perfection and getting ahead of the rest, he was a heartless monster that only felt obliged to raise a couple of orphans by some pathetic bet. That was my first huge mistake. A mistake that will never leave me alone."

Yugi frowned but didn't comment on the bitter tone. "And my grandpa comes into this how?"

"Ran into him outside of his shop one day. Literally. I was seven at the time and nearly knocked him right on top of me," said Seto simply. He cracked a rare full grin at the expressions he was faced with. "I'd snuck out because none of the staff cared when Gozoburo was on bussiness trips. I did that quite a lot, actually, but Mokuba was never allowed out with me. Kid was prone to illness and I wouldn't risk him getting hurt or lost."

"So you just ran into Mr. Muto and became instant friends," concluded Anzu slowly.

"Not quite. He seemed to take an instant liking to me. I'll admit it took a while for me to trust him, but after he bandaged up my hand and had me sitting in his living room he seemed more like a true grandfather than a threat. I quite enjoyed your grandfather's company, Yugi. He was open, and didn't mind having a scrawny kid like me hanging around all the time. I was happiest when I went out to see him," admitted Seto.

"Next question then. How did you meet my brother?"

"Three years later I come and find him looking suddenly older and more worn out. It was only a couple of weeks after the death of your parents," said Set simply, noticing that Yugi straightened to hear the mention of his long-dead parents, "And there I saw you two in his house all of a sudden. Let's see here, you were barely a year old and I must say you were somewhat cherubic. That means that Atem was six right?"

"He's twenty-three," said Yugi as confirmation.

"My memory hasn't failed me then. Anyway, I guess you could say that your older brother took an instant liking to me. Little devil, though."

Anzu cocked her head to one side. "I can't picture it."

"He was barely a preschooler and I was hanging around every chance I could make for myself. Atem would follow me around like a lap dog, doing anything I said, trying to imitate everything I did. Gozoburo was always away for long trips, Mokuba was getting sick all of the time at the point. I completed all of my studies quickly in the day and assumed the role of babysitter." Seto sipped his water again. "Before I continue, you do know a bit about your parents, don't you?"

"Everybody knows about their parents," sniffed Anzu.

Seto gave her a pointed look. "Do they now?"

"Well, anyone in a gang at any rate. Yugi's father was the leader of the Duelists and his wife was a former Dueslist herself when they married. Mr Muto, his grandpa, was on friendly terms with both sides. The Duelists and the lowly Ghouls have never got along, so it was strange at first."

"Refrain from insults like that again, dear. You're still in a Ghoul house."

"My parents died in a fire set by some enemy group other than the Ghouls," whispered Yugi.

"I remember it. Apparently my boss was staying in the same hotel that night. Not that I believe his garbage," dismissed Seto, "Back to my answer. Naturally, Atem was set up to be the next leader of the Duelists and always knew it. Your grandfather kept a close eye on him but at the time I didn't know anything about his heritage. Gangs had nothing to do with me. Never affected me until I was fifteen."

"What happened?" Reflexive response and the next question. "Why did you two fall apart?"

"I'd brought Mokuba along. First time I'd ever done it. Atem had wanted to meet my brother for the longest time and finally Mokuba was healthy enough to see him. Mokuba was ecstatic to be well and see someone new. You had a doctor's appointment Yugi, and the three of us tagged along with your grandfather. He got a call on the ride home that got his attention. We didn't go back to your place right away. Stopped at some antique bookstore and we waited in the car."

Strangely, Seto's eyes had a suddenly creepy, distant quality that suggested that he was looking back on some horrible event in his memory. There was silence for a moment before he continued. "Fifteen minutes later; gunshot. Later I was told by Sugoruko that he had been called by some old associate to stave off a few members of that same mystery group. Why he parked a block away with children was beyond me at the time. You help your allies no matter the cost, and he even told me before he got out that I was not to let anyone leave and to keep behind the seats. He made it sound like some sort of game. The gunshot meant the associate was killed. You started crying your eyes out and Atem, the moron that he is, knew it was gang activity. I must say, for an eleven year old he was gutsy. Didn't listen much to reason or sense though. He bolted right out of the car and made for the store. I followed, rightfully scared, and was trying to drag him back to the car as one of the men slipped out past Sugoruko and happpened to spot Atem. Recognized him at once from the resembelance to your father and grandfather and headed straight for us. I managed to pull Atem back out of the way and around the car, and even managed to get the attention of the woman who called the cops. It's just... I never knew that Mokuba had gotten out of the car to see what was going on until the rogue grabbed him."

Anzu gasped, a hand flying to her mouth. They knew where this was going.

"The two of us chased after him. I'd taken martial arts lessons mainly for meditation, but I knew how to take down someone unarmed. My stepfather was good for something at least. I didn't know that the rogue had a gun. I don't think Atem did either. My brother was pulled into the nearest alleyway and I just rushed right in to save him. Seeing a kid try to take him distracted the man enough for me to almost grab my brother's hand, but your brother stopped me. He recognized the rogue as an old family friend that had gone bad since. He got right up in front of me and held me back. I remember him saying that he wouldn't let me hurt the rogue. The rogue was really a good person that was just scared by the real villains. The line between fear and ill content is fine and I guess I was the only one that saw it. I tried to push past Atem but the idiot gave up persuasion and showed that he knew how to fight too. Kicked me square in the ribcage and knocked me back against a dumpster. I was so out of it for a moment that I barely registered Atem approaching the rogue with a smile. I'd never wanted to hurt someone so badly in my life." He paused, and the two Duelists realized that the entire time his fingers had been making quick, precise movements like writing on the counter. "The man panicked at the thought of being caught. He heard voices on the street – I still don't know who's – and pulled out a handgun. Then he went for the closest target. Mokuba's scream..."

He shuddered. "Atem just stood there at that point. Too confused to react except stare at my brother's body. The rogue knocked him out of the way a mintue later and began to run for it the way we'd come. I reached out without thinking and tripped him. That went over well. He grabbed me by the collar and lifted me up, seeing as I wasn't all that big at the time. Yelled right in my face but I didn't hear him. Then he pulled out a knife as his second weapon and carved along the right side of my neck, down to my left hip. My brother bled on the concrete and I bled in a dumpster. Atem only sat there."

"Your brother died and Atem didn't do anything about it? He sat there and watched Mokuba die?" Asked Yugi numbly.

"The bullet only piered Mokuba's shoulder. If there hadn't been complications of his illness returning from combined shock and blood loss there was a small chance of his survival. But yes, Atem did nothing. A day in hospital later and my only sibling was dead."

Seto snapped back to reality when Anzu spoke up. "You blamed Atem?"

"He admitted his mistakes too, which set me off when Gozoburo had finally come to reprimand me for my sneaking around. With Sugoruko also watching, I verbally let Atem have it. His faults, his idiocy, the fact that my _brother_ had forfeited his life because of your family's gang involvement. I remember the White Crane stance he used because he didn't appreciate someone shouting out his flaws in a hospital. He wouldn't accept that he was also at fault in the incident. Not even your grandfather would admit that his precious grandson was responsible. My lashing out curbed any punishment that Gozoburo had planned for me. For some reason, he saw an enraged me as a perfect heir for him. Critical, commanding, powerful, determined. As I mourned Mokuba's death, he was working on increasing my study load to cover eventual leadership of Kaiba Corp."

"Cold man couldn't even shed a tear, I bet," murmured Anzu angrily. She looked up at Seto. "How come you're not still his heir?"

"A year later we were at a conference in the mountains. Dismal weather, raining to match my mood. I really don't remember too much of the night except that I'd been so buried in assignments and work since that argument that I was little more than a hollow machine. That night I got mad at the vice president of Kaiba Corp for mentioning Mokuba with harsh words. Caused quite a scene. Gozoburo pulled me into an upstairs room later in the night and yelled at me. Said that if I was going to head Kaiba Corp someday I'd have to get over Mokuba and concentrate solely on the company. Nothing else in my life should matter if I was to be devoted to the progression of its technology and place in the global market."

"Hang on," interrupted Yugi, "Wouldn't we have heard about this before? Kaiba Corp is always in the news, those events would have been heard about. I mean, I knew that Gozoburo had a son that no one knew much about, but one story is that his mother took him out of the country when the couple divorced. Has he ever mentioned you to anybody?"

"I don't think he has since I fought with him," shrugged Seto, "The incident isn't too clear in my mind anymore. I can't even remember half of it. Whatever I said and did must of infuriated him, I know that much."

"How do you know that?

"I ran. Again. Like I said, it was in the mountains and the lodge was fairly far away from any towns. Whatever happened back at the lodge shattered whatever twisted tolerance or respect he had for me. One story I got a few years ago by... questionable means suggests that Gozoburo made a call after he'd calmed a bit."

"A call? What kind of call?" Anzu leaned forward like she was hearing a thrilling story, only far too real.

"I'm not saying," Seto said bluntly. His eyes flashed, closing down that potential conversational turn.

"He made a call and something bad happened, didn't it?" Yugi picked at a stray thread on his sleeve. "Would you tell me what?"

"It was dark, pouring rain, and I was so out of it I had no idea where I was going." Seto sighed before leaning back with eyes closed. "It was hit and run. Sharp turn over a steep drop, speeding heavy duty pickup, driver probably drunk. I was hit full on and the driver left me hanging on the mountain ledge."

While Anzu's hands went to cover her mouth again, Yugi gave him a look of mixed horror and disbelief. "You can't be serious."

"I'm not usually one to make jokes," chuckled Seto coldly.

"B-but why are you still alive? How badly were you hurt? Details, we need details," insisted Anzu, not entirely convinced by his offhanded telling.

"I was found by a working crew the next afternoon. Lucky thing that the one man caught sight of me through some brush, they were convinced that another night and I no doubt would have died of hypothermia if not my injuries. Can you believe my rotten luck in early life?" Seto didn't wait for any sort of response to his sarcasm. "In the beginning I didn't remember too much of anything. I had a cracked skull with some minor swelling, internal bleeding, broken ribs, a fractured wrist, a broken leg, and I think a broken collarbone. Maybe a crushed vertabrae or two, possibly something vital ruptured. Forgive me, apparently even one glass of whiskey fogs that part of my memory even more. Its a miracle I even survived at any rate."

"Did Gozoburo not come to get you?" Yugi already knew the answer to that.

"No. From then on the few people that even knew of my existence thought I was dead. The hospital had no idea who I was until about two months after my admittance." Seto sighed. "Somebody knew somebody else, and for some reason my boss knew who I was before I could remember all the details myself. As much as I hate to admit it, the man is good. Don't know quite how he managed it but I suddenly had two cousins that lived in Domino and were my closest living relatives. Bakura and Marik – he's Isis' younger brother, works the bar most nights - came in one day and pulled off a perfect act of family concern."

"And you believed them," said Anzu flatly.

"Not for a minute," said Seto, "First chance they got the two told me that they had no idea who the hell I actually was but they could offer me a safe home and a chance at finally getting a decent life."

"No one in their right mind would accept an offer like that," blurted out Yugi. He didn't even think about his words.

"True, but I wasn't in my right mind, was I? The mind can only be broken so much before some of the damage can never be undone. That incident, Mokuba's death, my parent's..." Seto cut himself off before finishing the last bit. "I wasn't quite the same after everything, we'll put it that way, and they were still trying to diagnose me when I left rehab for my injuries about seven months after the initial accident."

"Yeah? What's wrong with you, if you don't mind the wording," added Anzu quickly.

"Well, it's not quite a bipolar disorder, multiple personality disorder, or severe mood swings. It's not even schizophrenia or a simliar displacement from reality, really. The best answer we can come up with is that my emotional state of being fractured into a set of near split-personalities that embody my mental and emotional state. Simply put, in certain situations and even day to day life my 'mood' is determined by my taking on a different persona that can easily switch with the drop of a pin. A coping mechanism, per se. A natural defense of my mind so I don't possibly break and enter something like a coma. I have really no control over it. You see, I'm Seto. I'm always Seto. But another persona is always slightly more 'dominant' as long as I 'need' it."

"That's awfully confusing," commented Yugi slowly, trying to digest the information that rolled so easily off of Seto's tongue. It was amazing how much more talkative and open he was compared to the start of the dark telling about his past. Now he could assume that another persona was easing to the front as he grew comfortable with the atmosphere.

The fixer was an entire study in human psychology all by himself.

"It is. To top it off my two very annoying housemates decided to name every single persona. They can recognize every shifting of emotion and identify by name every change in my behavior and personality. I guess that alone is an accomplishment."

They fell into complete silence then. The two Duelists mulled over everything that they had heard and Seto watched them calmly. Finally, after glancing at the clock and deciding that one-thirty was late enough for the night, he downed the last of his now warm water and stood up abruptly. "Alright then kiddies, get out."

The two blinked at him blankly as he leaned across and rummaged behind the bar counter for the cup of pens Isis kept there for orders. He found one that worked, and when he couldn't find the pad of paper from his limited view point opted for a napkin.

"You just told us the story of your life," insisted Anzu, "And you'll let us go and tell Atem everything."

"You won't."

"Says who?"

"You won't," repeated Seto as he scribbled something down, "I don't think you two could bring yourselves to do it, and I personally would want to be there to see Atem's reaction. Go to your homes already, act normal, I don't care what you do. I gave you things to think about and I'm glad that somebody else knows the truth."

"We came asking about the past with Atem, and we ended up finding out about most of your personal history instead." Yugi shook his head in disbelief. "Something doesn't add up here. I thought you hated us and the rest of the Duelists."

"I don't have anything personal against either of you," said Seto, handing Anzu the folded up napkin, "And you'd be smart to keep it that way. I make a very bad enemy."

"I don't understand you at all. I thought that coming here would help us to, and now I'm even more confused," sighed Yugi. He hopped down from the stool and looked up at Seto. "And I think that you enjoy making people guess."

"I always liked you more than your airheaded brother," Seto told him, "You use your head a hell of a lot more than him."

"Why are you giving us your phone number?" Demanded Anzu when she read what he had given her. "And some strange word in – what language is this? Than-in muse-are- ath?"

"Thaneen mus'aara'ath," corrected Seto with flawless pronounciation, "It's Arabic. Means 'Dragon's fight'. And that's actually the number of the bar. Need help with something that doesn't involve Atem or just the Duelists, maybe I'll help you out." He lifted his gun up again, and clicking the safety on, hid it under his sweater again. The hiding places for a gun were seemingly endless. "If I'm in the mood to that is."

At that, Yugi managed a small smile and did something Seto wasn't expecting. He bowed low and smiled up at the Ghoul. "I'm really glad you didn't throw us out when we came," he thanked, "You've really given me a lot to think about, and hearing that you might help us sometime in the future means a lot. So thank you."

"You're not a bad person after all," added Anzu as she clutched the napkin close to her chest. She managed a small smile herself. "For a couple of Duelists and a Ghoul, I'm surprised we kept things so calm. Not that I like Ghouls anymore than I already did. Don't take offense or anything."

"Only if you don't expect me to start loving Duelists," retorted Seto. Still, the look in his eyes was a bit softer than usual.

"Deal," giggled Anzu. She tilted her head to the side and her soft, sad smile returned. "Our first impression of you wasn't all that great. And can you really blame us?"

"I suppose I lose points for being the instigator."

"I don't think you're a bad person at all, if being a fixer for the Ghouls doesn't count. Bad things have just happened to you that made you change. That's what I think," Yugi told him.

The conviction and new trust in his violet eyes was starting to frustrate Seto. Annoy him, even. He disliked it when people got far too trusting. They could be stabbed in the back and left in the gutter and still be smiling about it. Trust was good, but sometimes caution helped you to live longer. When he'd met Isis she'd come right out and threatened that if he did anything stupid to betray the Ghouls or Pegasus for his apparent faith she'd knife him in his sleep. It had taken three years for their powerful relationship to form. .

"You should go," he said, suddenly very tired. Yugi noticed that the man looked older and more worn sometimes. "Don't mention this little therapy session to your hot headed friends or Atem."

"We didn't plan on saying anything if we got you to talk," revealed Yugi.

"Good night," called Anzu as they headed towards the door and Yugi held it open for her like a true gentleman. "Thanks again for telling us everything you did."

"Don't make a habit of coming all the time or you'll end up locked out," warned Seto, entirely serious. He'd reverted back to his normal disposition in a matter of seconds.

The two laughed as they left and the quiet inside returned with the closing of the door. Seto stood there staring at it for a moment before sighing and speaking again, apparently to himself. "Typical that the naive ones are the most curious and decide to come knocking."

"Can't believe you told them all that you did."

Marik stepped out of the stairwell and hopped up onto the stool beside Seto. His predatory eyes were bright and clear. "Faking the alcohol intake I see," muttered Seto irratably, "How long how you been listening in on us?" He didn't bother walking around the bar. Instead, he put a hand on the smooth wooden-appearing surface and vaulted over with practiced ease.

"Long enough to know you only omitted a few minor details," shrugged Marik. He watched Seto flick off the open sign and decided to help out by locking the doors.

"Thanks so much," said Seto sarcastically. He grabbed the half empty bottle of cognac that Bakura had stashed where he hoped no one would find it and headed through the swinging doors to the kitchen. Marik was surprised but pleased to see that he grabbed two glasses and not one. He happily scurried after him, the prospect of good alcohol drawing him in like a lure.

Seto was sitting at the long center counter when Marik bounded in to what was the domain of Rishid, Seto, and sometimes Isis. He was a bartender by license and hobby, just as the bodyguard and fixer knew their way around a kitchen. Rishid had cooked from childhood for the family and for some reason Seto was a pro at anything he tried. Two perfectionists, one kitchen. The two clowns of the household had long since been banned from entering.

"You know Bakura stole that, right?" Asked Marik cheerfully. He swiped the first glass poured and downed half of its contents in one gulp.

"I was with him when he did," said Seto by way of answer. Unlike Marik, he sipped at the cognac slowly, and recapped the bottle to get across the fact that no more would be drunk by the blonde that night.

"Isis was really quiet when she went upstairs," commented Marik, hoping for a reaction.

"I do feel bad about that," admitted Seto grudgingly, "But she knows I actually think before I do things."

"Not all of the time," objected Marik.

"Did you come down to hear what I was saying or just to bug me?" Asked Seto with sickeningly friendly sweetness.

"I little of both, I guess." Marik rubbed the back of his head and stared down into the last half of his glass. "Surprised you told them what you did though. I wasn't expecting your whole life story to be laid out for them like that. If you ask me, I really think you're going soft Seto. Did you hope to get anything out of that?"

"All I want is to see some sort of reaction."

"To what? That lovely story that we call your life?"

"Anything. A reaction to something, a reaction that can turn things in on themselves. I want to see what will happen." Seto swirled the contents of his own drink and examined the amber liquid like it was some sort of experiment. "I have a feeling that won't go away."

"A feeling," repeated the blonde flatly.

Seto tossed back the rest of the glass and placed it in the sink. As he passed by on his way to the bar again, he grabbed the bottle that Marik was reaching for. "Just a feeling. Probably doesn't amount to a whole hell of a lot, but it keeps nagging at me. Like something important is going to happen soon."

"It scares me how casually you can say that," called Marik, "If this is a relapse stay away from me. And if it means something , still stay away from me."

"You can't escape some things," countered Seto. The doors swung shut behind him. Marik only sighed and gulped down his last swallow. He didn't get up just yet. He heard Seto doing the last minute tasks in the other room before it too was quiet out there. Sometimes he hated it when Seto made him really think about things.


End file.
